Editor’s blog

  • ForeThought: Leading the return to normal

    September 1, 2010 | Mary Hennessy
    My investment advisor is always saying “buy low and sell high.” Paradoxically, that’s intellectually logical but emotionally difficult for me. I usually want to do the opposite with my modest retirement account: Sell when the price is low because I’m scared, and buy when the price is high because I feel optimistic. Read more…

  • Miss Management: When theories collide

    August 24, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    The topic of corporate social responsibility has formed the basis for a number of my editorials and blogs, in print and online, over the past couple of years. I wish I could say that the ensuing discussions have prompted brisk sales of an entire line of “WWMMD” (What would Miss Management do?”) products and the creation of a nascent financial empire for the editorial staff of Specialty Fabrics Review magazine, but so far, except for some very thoughtful comments from a few IFAI members, my anti-Friedman stance hasn’t resulted in much more than an occasional “How’s your silly liberal commie pinko self today?” from IFAI’s vice president of conference management. And he’s joking, mostly. Probably. Read more…

  • Miss Management: It doesn’t take one to know one

    August 12, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    When I started college, back in ’02, I initially was pursuing a degree in philosophy, for some reason. By my sophomore year, of course, I had already come to the reluctant conclusion that a degree in philosophy ultimately would likely achieve nothing more than a degree in philosophy, which might make my conversations with customers consist of more interesting questions than “would you like fries with that?” but would do little to advance my occupational opportunities. Read more…

  • ForeThought: Beyond compliance

    August 5, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Over the past couple of years, I’ve peppered the pages of the Review with brief stories about the development of fibers, fiber treatments and fabrics from abundant and renewable natural resources: hagfish slime, corn sugar, crab shells, coconut shells and chicken feathers, to name a few. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Please add me to your mailing list

    July 28, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    A former president of the United States once said, probably with more prescience than anticipated, that “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” The statement has passed into political (and comedic) lore, but I’m thinking that it certainly applies to many business practices in this country as we stumble out of recession. If that’s what we’re doing. Read more…

  • ForeThought: Where there’s a well, there’s a way

    July 1, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Today (Wednesday, June 23), the Associated Press (AP) reported that tens of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing British Petroleum (BP) to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude. The setback, one of many in the nine-week effort to stop the gusher, came as thick pools of oil washed up on Florida’s Pensacola Beach, and the Obama Administration worked on resurrecting a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. The current worst-case estimate of what’s spewing into the ocean is about 2.5 million gallons a day. Yet U.S. District Court Judge Martin L.C. Feldman stated that just because one oil rig failed, that doesn’t mean that they all will; a comment that I, personally, can only describe as Complete Piffle (CP). Read more…

  • ForeThought: Working on what’s working

    June 3, 2010 | by Galynn Nordstrom
    Yesterday, they allowed a few of us IFAI editors out of the office, and I attended the Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Association 2010 Summit & Expo. Read more…
  • There are 10 types of people in this world—those who understand binary, and those who don't.

    Miss Management: When geeks rule the earth—and the economy

    May 26, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Despite my journalism degree, I’m a science geek and a lifetime science fiction fan, and probably always will be. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Show me the money, and give me an “e”

    May 10, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Each issue of Specialty Fabrics Review magazine ends with a page we cleverly call “Beginnings,” referencing a story from a year in the Review’s past that we think has an amusing, enlightening, pointed or sometimes disturbing take on current industry issues. Read more…

  • ForeThought: Eureka! (Archimedes)

    April 29, 2010 | Janet Preus
    A recently unveiled competition is designed to encourage and reward excellence in our industry, and it’s an intriguing new idea. The Industrial Fabrics Foundation Innovation Award program seeks to inspire companies to lead the way into uncharted territory and “not only come up with great ideas, but make them happen,” with new processes, equipment and machinery, and end products. Read more…